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6
Water Supply.
Professor Frankland in his report on the analyses of
waters supplied by the Metropolitan Companies during 1888,
says, that although on the whole the year was unfavourable
for purifying operations, the water maintained, except in
March, November, and December, the high quality it has
now exhibited for several years past. Even in the three
months just mentioned the river waters were well filtered
and delivered bright and clear, although the Companies were
not able to contend quite successfully with the excessive
quantity of organic impurities which were present in the
raw water of the Thames and Lea.
The actual amount of organic matter, though quite insignificant,
may be of the most objectionable character on
account of its origin. The Water of the Lambeth and other
Thames Companies' receives, above the points where it is
abstracted for the purpose of supply, various contributions of
organic matter of animal origin, which may be accompanied
by Zymotic poisons dangerous to health ; though the chance
of such reaching the consumer is greatly reduced by filtration
and the care which is taken to exclude storm water
from the reservoirs.
In fact the Thames water supplied during the past year
was, in respect of comparative freedom from organic impurity,
only surpassed in two out of twenty-one years.
The deep well water supplied by the Kent Company
again maintained its high degree of purity, the amount of
organic matter which it contained being but little more than
one third of that present in the Thames.